Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither-whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked!  They are like chaff that the wind blows away.  Therefore, the wicked will stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.  Psalm 1:1-6  NIV

Today’s scripture passage comes from the first Psalm.  This Psalm was written as a beatitude.  It begins by telling of the blessing we receive when we walk with God.  It speaks of God’s word and the blessings that come to those that live in accordance with God’s word.

We are told that we are blessed if we avoid behaving like the sinners and mockers.  We are told that we are blessed if we delight in the law of the Lord and if we meditate on His law day and night.

The Bible is a wonderful book of instruction.  If you think that it’s boring, then obviously you have never read this book.  It is filled with fascinating stories.  It begins with the creation of the universe and ends with Eden being restored.  Oh and there is a little spoiler alert here, we win.  By we, I mean those that stick with God.  I mean those that strive to do what the Bible instructs us to do and to avoid what it tells us not to do.  Revelation 22:7 says,  “Look I am coming soon!  Blessed be the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”   God makes it very clear that those of us that abide in His word will be blessed.  He also makes it very clear that the wicked will perish.

I have read the Bible through a couple times and my husband and I are working our way through it now.  What amazes me though is that no matter how many times I read it, I will get this lesson in Sunday school and think, “Oh wow!  I don’t remember reading this story” or “I never thought about it this way”.   The reason that David says that we should meditate on God’s word day and night is that it is meant to be studied, not just read.  It’s the instruction book or policy manual for how we are to live our lives.

When we study the Bible, we see how applicable it is to our every day lives.  If you have a problem, then I can promise you that it has been addressed in the Bible.  I can also tell you that the Bible gives you specific instructions on how to handle it.  There is a website called openbible.info that has a topical search.  So if you are dealing with a certain topic, you can go to this website and it will give you a large number of verses that deal with that specific topic.

The wonderful thing about the Bible is that it gives us these instructions to live by, then it gives us these awesome stories about people who lived according to the instructions.  Things always worked out for them in the end.  However, there are those that did not live by the instructions and you will see that they faced horrible endings.  Just like our scripture passage says,  God watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. 

One thing I have noticed in the Bible is that every character in there had free will.  God never forced anyone to do things His way.  Those that obeyed God were blessed and those that did not were destroyed.   And those that loved the Lord, but blatantly disobeyed Him, suffered consequences.

God’s word is tried and true.  I encourage you to study God’s word.  If you are going to church and not attending Sunday School, then you are missing out.  For years, my mom encouraged me to go to Sunday School and I refused, thinking that was just for kids.  Boy, was I wrong!  I am still learning more every day about this awesome book.

If you aren’t living your life according to God’s word, then why not give it a try?  I promise that you will be so glad you did.  God wanted us to be able to get to heaven.  God wants us to be blessed.  The choice is ours.  Read His word, study His word and live His word.  Live in the peace, joy and comfort of being in close relationship with Him.  Our preacher says that our prayers are when we talk to God, but when we read the Bible is when God speaks to us through His word. If you are doing all the talking and none of the listening, you are in trouble.

There are many different versions of the Bible.  If you would like to study it, then I encourage you to get a good study bible.  These bibles explain the scriptures and also give historical references so you have a better idea of what is going on.  An amplified study bible explains the meanings of the scripture in very simple terms.  So if you were using the excuse that you didn’t understand the Bible, well that excuse won’t hold up anymore.  There are also Bible handbooks.  These books are to be used along with the Bible and give historical references.  They explain what was going on in that day and time and give details about the characters. They give a more in depth study of the scripture passages.

If you are reading the Bible at home and not studying with others, then I strongly encourage you to get into a good bible study.  Go to church where you can study the Bible with fellow believers.  When you go to church, be sure that the word being preached there lines up with the word of God.  And last but not least, meditate on God’s word day and night.  It will keep you out of trouble and open you up to blessings beyond measure.

Have a great day!